WP #1

Portfolios, from my experiences, are a useful tool to compile information through a

period of time. The documents that are stored and presented in a portfolio can showcase one's
work and progress. I have learned that portfolios can contain variety, for example works of
writing can exhibit different styles and may be targeted to different audiences. Portfolios can
also be in electronic and hard copy forms, or both combined together in some cases. Lastly, the
portfolio allows the presenter or creator the freedom of choice and reflection. How the portfolio
is arranged is dependent on whoever has produced it. The ability to look back on, reflect, on
what was created can make future writings more successful.
For myself looking back at process portfolios can be a valuable learning experience, to
see what was done right and wrong. Seeing the lead-up to a goal and different work that brought
everything together. This style is more about showing growth, I believe I have enhanced my
writing ability in college and can continue to use this style of portfolio to grow. Presentation
portfolios have more of a focal point or destination, while still focusing on growth. My
experience has mostly dealt with process, so Im interested to learn about both this semester,
because I do enjoy working towards a goal.
WP #2
1. I believe it's very important to show progress throughout the semester via the portfolio. As
each writing piece is posted, each should improve upon the previous one. One way that can be
done is going back and adding to older daily writing activities when the portfolio is put together
at the end of the semester. By bettering each activity, growth will be shown.

2. Persistence is also something I plan to demonstrate through my portfolio. Deep research in my

writing and presentation assignments is a way I demonstrate this. By sticking to my subject and
goal I can show persistence in my writing.
3. By showing my web designing skills I can let my personality, passions and who I am as a
person shine through my portfolio. How the portfolio is laid out and presented can really be an
important part of the portfolio has a whole. The great thing about this is the designing is
completely up to the presenter.
4. Having voice and flexibility in writing is important because it shows distinct personality,
style, and point of view on a piece of writing or any other creative work. I can demonstrate this
by providing examples of my writing throught the semester. I can show different writing styles
and share them in my portfolio in a unique way.
5. I can make writing assignments my own by putting my voice in each of them. I can pull from
past experiences and share my own thoughts within the assignment. I believe its important to
make each assignment my own through these techniques.
6. Independence in writing is something that can be difficult. Students have all, for the most part,
been taught the same way and have the same styles. Being able to branch out, try new styles and
put together new voices in something can be put into the portfolio can set one apart of the next.
Everyone has styles of writing that can fit them best, but you have to experiment to find that
style you think works well.
WP #3 Revised
I feel one of the best ways to learn is by traveling and meeting new individuals, I can
learn a lot from some connections Ive made through my passion, which is racing. Racing
involves a lot of travel, through the week of the race you can see a lot of interesting stuff and

meet some cool people. Hearing stories and seeing new areas is something I find really enjoyable
and educationally at the same time.
One of the drivers I coach on my off time from actually driving has taught me a lot about
things hes done in his life. I can teach him about driving styles and techniques, but he has
explained things to me that have helped me in my life outside of racing. I never would have met
him without traveling and being open to all people through racing.
An organized and well thought out webpage is important to engage the viewer along with
informing them. If you were to look at any well-known site, such as yahoo.com, you will see the
formatting in simple and viewer friendly. The tabs and bookmarks are labeled and easy to
navigate around, making the site well suited for all visitors. The colors and schemes are simple,
yet effective which make the site visually appealing. More important items are larger, while
secondary items are placed based on their importance and relevance.
This type of formatting can be put into my future portfolio because its a proven
designing method to engage site visitors. The site should have some personality to it, but also
have a clean, organized and polished look. The balance between the two is important because
after all the portfolio webpage is meant to showcase the semesters writing.
WP #4
Peer review sessions can be helpful in many different ways, and are useful to all writers.
The first draft of any paper is never perfect, therefore having a second set of eyes to look through
aspects of the paper is critical for a solid piece of finalized work. Peer reviewing also throws a
social facet into the writing process. By getting together with classmates, you share drafts with
each other and provide feedback. The core of peer reviewing is the feedback received during and
after the process.

In the most recent peer review, our class got together to exchange our semester project
proposals. Our group of four teamed with another group to receive feedback. I think its
important to give positive and negative feedback when reviewing, that way they know what our
group thought was done right and what could still need a little work. Each member read through
and added notes to different areas of the paper. When we were finished we all talked about the
paper together as a group and added some final comments. Since this was a new group, our
exchange was more formal. I think, overall the communication between each group and its
members went well and we all got the feedback and comments we needed to improve each of our
papers.

WP #5
Learning from direct experience can be more effective if coupled with reflection. Key
lessons taught by experience, the more you write and make mistakes, the better writer one can
become. Reflection is a huge part of keep yourself on track and making sure youre forming
good habits for the future. My writing this semester has been a lot of self-reflection, so with this
journal entry I suppose Im reflecting on my previous reflections, which is strange concept. With
that being said, I can say Im learning some new information through research for the semesterlong project.
Reflective thinking demands that you recognise that you can bring valuable knowledge to
every experience. It helps you therefore recognise and clarify the important connections between
what you already know and what you are learning. It is a way of helping you to become an aware
and critical learner. I believe, reflection is an important part of the learning process.

PORTFOLIO REFLECTION - This writing prompt helped me look at the semester project in a
little bit of a different light. After writing this prompt, I began to use my personal experience
more in the semester project. I think, it shows that personal experience is really more powerful
than anything because you can really explain something that youve experienced better than
simply just researching or reading about it.
WP #6
Revision as a definition, literally means to see again, to look at work from a fresh, new
and critical perspective. It is an ongoing process of rethinking a form of writing, this includes
reconsidering how you're reviewing your evidence, refining your purpose and reorganizing the
presentation. Being able to revise efficiently can help all areas of the paper become more
polished and really help drive home a main point. Revising is much more than just fixing
spelling and grammatical errors, its adding informative content or moving round paragraphs
with a main goal of improving the paper or presentation.

My main goals during revision are to craft a more well-rounded and complete paper. This
might entail adding more references or personal experiences to help better connect with the
audience. I think its also important to not be completely content with what has been written
because then you will not want to add and improve that piece of writing. Nothing is ever perfect,
it can always be better, so its helpful to keep that in mind. In most of my revisions in this class, I
plan to add to my daily writing and give more insight and examples that can further expand on
what we, as a class have touched on. I think using what Ive learned through the semester can
help as I look back and add to my writing. Overall, I hope to show improvement and progress as
I revise my work.
WP #7

The first step in gaining rhetorical knowledge is to find a purpose, you need a direction to
take your paper or presentation. For our Lake Norman project, the main purpose is to inform our
audience, the class, on all aspects of the Lake. We plan to utilize our knowledge and passion for
the area, along with a number of unique researching tools. The next step we have used is
responding to the needs of the audience. In order for the presentation to gain attention and
complete its purpose we have to engage the audience. We are doing this by incorporating
interesting facts and photos so the audience can visually see what we are explaining. By making
our project organizing and presentable we are also a step closer to completing our purpose and
fulfilling the needs of the audience. During our presentation we plan use tone and appropriate
voice to connect with our audience and draw attention to our main points.

From my research, the annotated bibliography really pushed me to find more information
as I looked to more and more. Each source had new information and different opinions on certain
subjects. I kept researching to find new sources to form a well-rounded opinion. As I looked at
more factual information I found the opinion based articles challenged my critical thinking the
most.
WP #8

Fg. 1 Map of surrounding Lake Norman area: LKN411.com Lake Norman Area
This outlined area and its surrounding counties have all been affected by Lake Norman. Through
time each individual town has been impacted by the lake in different ways. Some have seen
growth and prosperity from tourism and real estate, while others have been isolated by the lake
and rubbed of farmland that was once relied upon.

Fg. 2 Graph showing lake area towns through time: plancharrlotte.com Popluation in Lake
Norman towns, 1970-2010

This graph shows the boom in population during the 1990s in Lake Norman towns that are
located north of Charlotte. This is due to the Lake being marketed as a home for upper class
communities. The growth can always be correlated to the increase in public access to the lake
during the late 1980s, leading to more people wanting to live on the water. Towns like Troutman
have failed to capitalize on the growth surrounding them, as the culture there is still very much
the same as it has been before the lakes creation.

Fg. 3 Lake Norman and Cowmans Dam during the 1980s: Mooresville Library

A few miles south of the Cowans Ford Dam, the city of Charlotte was booming in the 1980s. As
the surrounding areas of the lake grew, a separation was beginning to develop. This separation
was those who were local to towns like Mooresville, Davidson and Huntersville and those who
moved in to live on the lake. This is the beginning of the new culture that we now see in many of
the Lake Norman towns. However we can still see hints of the old way of life, but those hints are
dimensioning as time goes on.

WP #9

When I talked about my project most of the reactions are of interest and wanting to
learning more. The Lake Norman area has a big history and a lot of background that makes it
special. Certain roads around the back country of the lake are named after old towns and mills
that are no longer there. My brother found that very interesting.

The Mombo Mill was once on an area of land that is now under water. Today there is still
a Mombo Rd. Along with that, Lake Norman State Park has a mountain bike trail named after
Monbo Rd and the old mill. These are just some interesting facts that I explained to my brother,
because we both enjoy mountain biking. My brother and I both find what is under the lake very
interesting. Ive been on the lake and always wonder what used to be here when it was under
water. Now that I have researched the topics of that very question, he was surprised by what is
still under the water. Overall, nothing other than that really surprised us because we have lived in
the area for a good amount of time. We both really enjoy the history of the area and know a lot
about lake.
WP #10
When I look back at some of the original topics in the proposal for the semester-long
project I really think were went behind those areas. The farther we researched the more
interesting information we found. I learned some things about the area that Ive never even
thought about, which made me what to find out more. Our main goals for the project changed as
he continued to get content together. There were definitely a lot of historic information that
needed to be included along with the facts. An example is we wanted to focus more on Duke
Energy because without them the lake wouldn't be there at all.
Along with that, we wanted to look at what life was like before the lake was there and
how it changed as the lake formed and developed. I found that researching the old communities

lead me down a path that I wasn't expecting. I found a lot of older documents and photos that I
had to share in the presentation because it was some less known information that is of great
interest. My writing for this project wasnt really the main focus, it was more the research and
being able to express my knowledge to the class during the presentation.